GrAdUaTioN!!

I am so excited that i graduated from Brigham Young University-Idaho last night. It was so great to see my mom and dad and chloe and chase. I had a great time with them and all those who could make it last night. Travis' parents came in too and are staying until Saturday. I can't wait to go get our toes done while the boys go golfing. Thank you Mom and Dad for coming and taking us out to eat, buying us new dishes among other things and spending quality time. I hope i make you proud. I was so sad when they left because 2 days did not make up for the 8 months i haven't seen them. But we are going back to "the party house" (aka my parents house) in TWO weeks!! yay.
Here are some pictures we took last night!



Here I am with Travis' parents Chris and Jim!!



Me and Opal. She has been there for everything the last 7 years there is no way she'd miss this!!



Me and my PROUD husband ha ha



My happy family, minus Clara and Christian they had to work, Chase and Chloe and My mom and Dad. I was so glad they made it!



WE DID IT!!!

BEST NEWS EVER

MY FAMILY IS COMING TO MY GRADUATION!!!

My mom called me yesterday to tell me that my dad, my mom, my sisters and brothers are all coming to my graduation!!!! I was so happy i almost cried.

My mother and father in-law will also be there.

I can't believe it is so so so so sooon and i will have all those i love around me.

Hooray. Have a great day.
Ps we moved and were so happy to be in a new home. Pictures of the new place soon!!

Good news and More Pics

Even though Michael Jackson Died yesterday it has been a great week. I am tired so very tired but i have good news.
I passed portfolio!! I presented a 15 minute speech on what i have learned these past 3 years of college and i proved i learned enough to go out to the teaching field!! yay. I am so excited. I will be teaching 2nd grade at Jefferson Elementary starting August 20th.

More good news. I teach today Monday and Wednesday and then i am done teaching preschool. I am teaching my lessons on the Body.

Travis got to go golfing with a pro on Wednesday and supposively learned a lot. He also played in the final tournament for basketball. His team lost but he had 15 rebounds and 12 points. It was the best I've ever seen him play.

Still no news if Clara can live with us but we are moving in a week. We are not ready AT ALL but we have time to move it over slowly. We have to buy dressers and i have NO idea where to get them. I just wish trav was a handy man that could build them for us. Thats the next skill i need to learn... wood shop

And here are a few more pictures for my Graduation that Geoff took. I promise if you have him take your photos you won't be disappointed.

sneak peek of the senior picks

Geoff took my pictures today. Here is a couple he e-mailed that I loved. Take a look and let me know what your think.






Check out his business site at http://gdbstudios.blogspot.com/

Were not Homeless

Reading the title describes the week i've had, i am relieved not to be homeless...
The song homeless (from the forgotten carols) has been sung over and over by Travis this week as we have been stressing out if you haven't heard this religious catchy song that gets stuck in your head i invite you to click here for a preview

We found out that University Village was a bit deceiving. My sister Clara is trying to live with us in the fall and the rule at UV is that you have to have sole custody over the people that live with you. When i talked to the housing department back in February when they recommended UV. so i was a little annoyed. They tried to play it off saying they thought i was talking about my own child coming to college. I was livid by this point saying
1) how do i look old enough to have a child in college.
2) why would i need your permission if it was my own child and
3) when i do have children i won't refer to them as "sister"

So then we were in a panic to find somewhere new because we move next month. All the places i looked into were all for the fall. So that is 7 weeks to be homeless because we sold our contract for the apt we live in now. 2 other places gave us hope and then fell through. but finally we found a cute little 2 bedroom in our price range right by porter park. It is called "the woodshed" and travis has made plenty of jokes about taking people out to beat them. But they are nice and we are excited.

I am getting closer and closer to my "Portfolio interview" and i just need to finalize everything. It's not really stressing me out like i thought it would i just want to make it creative and struggling with trying to make it my own and memorable. So if you have any ideas on spicing up a speech let me know.



I finished my purse. I love it. i am so excited it is done. My sewing machine is a trooper although i have a feeling its going to need to be replaced soon enough.

Also i have been doing Indexing for family history. It is so fun for me. Kinda like detective work as you try and decode old cursive handwriting from the 1900s. I called my grandma j for some tips and its been a lot of fun trying it out.



My friend sarah had her baby on Saturday too and we went to see her. she has the fullest lips i've ever seen on a baby. She was like making this kissing sound and her dad was like "nuh uh your not starting that already" it was funny.

Pretty much that was the excitement of the week. I am excited for this upcoming week and finalizing all my projects. I'll keep you posted.

P.S. I am super wife and did 7 loads of laundry last night... or maybe i shouldn't brag about that since its been so long since i did laundry last i washed everything we owned pretty much.

Almost Done

I only have 6 weeks left of college!!!!

I can't believe i am almost done. I am so excited to be a teacher!!

These next 6 weeks are going to be busy ones:
I need too...
Make and Present a portfolio of all i learned in college
Write and Teach a week long lesson about the body to preschoolers
Finish the final touches on my Resume
Make and send announcements of my graduation
Move
and countless other assignments to finish off my last classes.


Wow i am going to be busy but it is so worth it!!

and for good old times here is a pic of me as a freshman in College

Part 3 the Boise Adventure

Oh we were so spoiled this past Memorial day. We got to go Boise to see Travis' parents and brother and sister in law. It was such a great trip and even better break from Rexburg.

We first went to see Travis' cousin graduate from Highschool in Mountain Home. It was a beautiful day. We spent a lot of time with travis' aunts uncles and grandparents. I love spending time with all the family. They are hysterical joking and messing with one another. It different than my family outings but in a good way. I am lucky to have such great in laws

Of course we went SHOPPING!!! it was so nice to finally go shopping where there is more options then the Teton Mall.
I got a new swim suit and a new jacket and jean skirt. My mother in law Chris is so nice and fun. I love shopping with her and my sister in law. We also got pedicures. Which went great with all my new sandals. I have been searching high and low for ones that i can wear on campus here is the assortment i have saved up... Jesus sandals here we come



Travis got a new putter (the one i said he couldn't get) so thanks Jim!! he loves it!!

We also went to the Zoo!! I LOVE THE ZOO. i was so excited to see the aminals. I got this cool african sounding bracelet and trav got some new sunglasses.



This little monkey was such a show off . That's that type of animal i would be if i was in a zoo.

We got to eat out at the best places. We ate at this Brazillian BBQ where they sliced the meat right off the skewers for you. It was so yummy and we ate SO much. and we got to eat at my favorite restaurant The Cheesecake Factory.

Before we left town i got this cute sewing machine cover at Hancocks and because of the the Memorial day sale i got it 50% off!! yay



Thanks again for a GREAT weekend Chris and Jim

Part 2 crazy update

School Work and Play

I am surviving the last semester of my College Career!! pretty crazy and i am trying to enjoy every minute of it. My classes teach me so much. A lot of patience among other things but i think that i am almost done jumping through hoops.
I still love kindergarten. It was my last week this week and next week we start Summer school but i am still doing kindergarten so i am happy with it!!
Travis is playing golf daily and on the Varsity Basketball team. He sure loves his sports we just bought these signs.


He is still enjoying work. He looks forward getting a worse and worse farmers tan. Its pretty funny.

Insane catch up part one!

So i have so much to catch up on (this is the reason why i don't write in a journal because then all i do is try to remember what happened all in one month)
So i've broke it up into parts
So Part one!!
Craftys
of course i have been making lots of new things these past weeks.
First i made travis a new lunch sack out Simpsons fabric. I covered it in contact paper before i sewed it to keep it water proof and i can now clean it easily.
We also bought some new sandwich holders so we don't have to use plastic bags anymore. Our little way to improve the environment...
I started making it into a tutorial but then i sucked at it so i stopped. but basically i just traced a cardboard square and rectangle the size i wanted and then sewed them together. I'd be more than happy to teach you!!





Then i made a skirt. Easiest skirt i have ever made. It was made out of 4 bandanas. I measured my waist with elastic. Laid out the bandanas along the elastic. folded over the edge and sewed the elastic inside. I am going to make another one to wear to preschool. They are so light and breezy perfect for summer weather.



Then i taught in preschool on weather. I made these cute little paperdolls for them to play with



My new project is going to be this purse from Make it or Love it and some new reusable grocery bags... stay tuned!



I finally got a new phone!! it is a palm centro. I got a cute little Croc case to go with it. It keeps me nice and organized because it doubles as a planner



We are now on our own cell phone plan. Thanks jim and chris for letting us bum off your plan for so long. We still have unlimited texts.

Yikes

It has been over 2 weeks since i have last posted. I have so much to fill everyone in on... however i haven't been able to catch a break so when i have time i will post the longest post of the century... SO stay tuned and sorry about the wait time!!

A little comic to illustrate how i am feeling right about now. I hope everyone had a fabulous 3 day weekend!!

I love my mom!!

Well of course my Blog wouldn't be complete without a yearly boast post about what a wonderful mother i have!!



This is when my sister was on the homecoming court. (she is absolutely gorgeous) but i also love my mom in this picture. She is so stunning. She looks great and is so stylish. I grew up with her picking out all my clothes and i never was embarrassed she always bought wonderful stuff!!



I just love this picture. I am probably like 2. I love my mom and am so thankful for everything she has sacrificed for me and making sure i had the best life.



She is the best mom in the world. Hands Down. She is so selfless giving everything before she takes something. Perfect example, it took her 7 years to get her Kitchen remodeled because she let everyone get what they want first.

I want to be a mom like her someday. I love her cooking, her advice, her smile and sense of humor.

I miss you mom. Thank you for everything!!

And i cannot forget my mother in law. she is fantastic too!! she is a beautiful person inside and out. She raised 3 boys and is still sane!! I have been blessed by her generosity so much!!

Today in kindergarten

I love love love kindergarten. I love kindergarten. really it is the best. Today I read a story about a cat. I asked the kids if they have pets. One girl said "I used to have a black poodle named jessi but my mom said he went rabbit and bited people so we killed it." ha ha

I was telling one of the little kids that i had the same doll (american girl dolls) when i was little and i still have them. Then she said "well if you don't play with them you should donate them to the D.I"

A little girl in my class said, "i told my mom you were my bestest friend and she said you couldn't be my bestest friend anymore" I wonder how that conversation went"

i just LOVE my class!! endless entertainment

mattooner update

I've survived the first 2 weeks of school and am ready for the third. With the semester already a 6th of the way done things are starting to mellow out. I swear teachers try and make the first 2 weeks really stressful so you will drop their classes. But "not i" (I have worked on a Little red hen lesson for preschool probably a total of 6 hours all group work mostly so its starting to rot my brain)
But cool news. We went to church and guess who was there...

for you that are not Mormon, this is one of the 12 Apostles of our church David A Bednar. He bore his testimony and his wife bore her testimony, He talked to us about working on our marriage and not giving up just because something isn't going perfect. He told us that a marriage is work. He told us that Pride will stand between us if we judge. He talked to the husbands about being good leaders and being helpful. It was such a wonderful surprise. But we also had president Clark (the president of BYU-I) our stake presidency and a few others. It was a very powerful meeting, one that i won't soon forget. After the meeting we got to shake Elder Bednar's hand. It was the coolest thing i've done churchy wise. I told Travis to snap a picture with his Iphone but he said it would be inappropriate. I guess he's right so you'll just have to take my word for it.

If you want to know why we have prophets and apostles click here:



We had a great Saturday too, I joined the gardening club on campus. We have a acre of land to plant on and what ever grows we get to pick and eat. Today I planted Peas. I did!! My thumb is getting greener already. The president of the club was laughing when i told her i had to dig in my closet to find something that would be ok to get dirty. I just don't have a lot of "play clothes" She grew up on farm and knows everything on how to plant to how to help deliver a cow. It's crazy. But i can't wait to see some things grow and get to eat some fresh produce.

We also went out to Idaho Falls to eat at Red Robin and go shopping. (we got our state refund check back and decided to treat ourselves.) We ordered the BLTA crossant and trav got the guacamole bacon burger and of course several refills of the best strawberry lemonade in the world Freckled lemonade.

We went to ross and i got some new Nike shox at a screaming deal. Its funny when Elder Bednar talked to us he was telling us the differences to love not to fight over between men and women. He said that in a man brain saving money is not spending it. In a girl brain it is getting a good deal. So Travis would say we spent money i say we saved it.

Then i also got this cute dress at Target. Travis didn't like it on the hanger but i assured him it looked better on. Then he approved of it. Here is the little steal i got for only $8.75

We bought travis some new golf shoes. He really needed them because he was making all his other tennis shoes reak. Please i need some advice. How do you get boy shoes to not stink? i am convinced that the only solution is Travis just needs more shoes so he is not wearing the same ones everyday.

My best friend from High School got home from his mission. Aaron served in England, Cantonese speaking. It was great to talk to him and catch up a little bit. It was really funny because i was baby sitting and he was making noise and Aaron asked me what the noise was and i said "my son" and he was like "what!!!" it was really funny.

Oh and we are moving in July to a 2 bedroom apartment. The whole thing has just fallen into place and we feel so blessed. I can't wait for my sister to move in with us and to have more space and our own washer and dryer. Ah heaven!!

well that is our extensive update. I am sorry it took so long mama!!

Earth day and Love

I am so happy lately!! it has been super sunny here in good ol' Rexburg, but i am sure by saying this it will snow tomorrow! ha



Here i am on my first day of my last semester of college. Travis wasn't there to take the picture so i had to do it myself. Travis is working full time form 6am to 2pm and then golfing until dark.

My last classes started Monday and already got me on my toes. I had to read a 150 page book on professionalism in one night. It was an easy read but it was tough because sometimes i am not really professional because i am such a goofball. It something i am really going to try to work on. Being more serious but definitely not boring. I hope my cooperating teacher isn't a serious nazi.

Another great reason i am happy lately is our new ward. It is fabulous. I suppose it isn't really "new" since we didn't move but we have such a turnover rate with people moving in and out that it really has been fun to meet all the new girls. Today we had a great Enrichment (if i do say so myself, since i planned it.) It was a great turn out and we got to meet a lot of new people.

My classes are so far so good. I am only in 3 but they are all practicum experiences. So i work with kindergartners from 7:45-12:15 and Preschoolers for 12:45- 4:45 3 times a week.




Today a friendly man from the local presbyterian congregation gave me a New Testament. Some people were being really rude and putting their hands up when they walked by or just giving off the body language of rudeness. And i just thought that was kind of sad. We would never want that to happen to our LDS missionaries. So i think it is all about prospective. I think that is what Jesus would have done. Been at least nice about it even though he knew the truth. So just something for every one out there in blogger world to think about.



Travis has been golfing alot!! i never see him. But we had a competition who could close their mouth the most with a golf ball in it. My mouth won!! here is a picture although of course travis wouldn't let me take one of him trying.



Also i saw the Hannah Montana movie!! so cute!! it has the best music in it too!! Me and my friend Mindy went for her birthday. We went at night so the theater was almost empty because all the little kids were home sleeping. But i highly recommend it to anyone!!!

We rearranged our living room!! i love it. We brought my desk out into the living room so now i don't have to be all alone in the back of the hallway when travis is not studding these next couple months.



Oh and last i made a blog with some of the crafts i want to do and have done. It is still a work in progress. But when i make cute things i'll post the instructions so if you want to make something i've made you know how!! The site is here I named it "quarter's crafts" because that is one of my nicknames and everything on there is cheap and simple to do. But check back because it is a work in progress!!

So that is what has been up with us!! were happy and still love each other! (that's for my dad)

Ya for Summer!!

exhausted

Wow so today i babysat for 9 hours. 5 of which were at a park. I babysat a 5 month old and a 2 year old. Holy cow i am exhausted. They were very fussy today and so we went back and forth from their home and the park. They would cry at home i'd take them to the park they would stop crying, when it was time to leave they'd start back up. My arms are tired from holding 2 heavy babies and my legs are tired from pushing a double stroller back and forth 4 blocks 4 times today.

I wonder... are your own kids easier because you know how to make them stop crying?? I also wonder why God created crying. I am sure babies would be a lot easier if they just came out talking. I am not a fan of this can't talk so i'll cry stage. I am beginning to think that i will not do a good job as a mother. My mom is the best. She makes it look so easy.

I also went to visit my friend Nicole who just had her baby. 24 hours and 2 epidurals later she looked great and the baby was healthy. I think i would die if that happened to me. Please labor go easy on me or i'll never have more than one kid. ha ha

So this post is a post of doubt on my part but an admiration congratulation for all those who are moms. WOW hats off to you. Now i am going to sleep. I get to sleep in tomorrow. But school starts on Monday. whoop whoo